


Up Close And Personal

by Duffy



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Photographer/Model, Fluff, M/M, Model!Bucky, Mutual Pining, Pre-Slash, Slow Build, Stucky Bingo 2019, photographer!Steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-23 12:50:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19151365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duffy/pseuds/Duffy
Summary: Bucky is sent to a photographer for a shooting that is supposed to be personal. He'd done an interview about being a supermodel and now his agent wanted photos that proved he wasn't all fancy suits and muscles.Bucky didn't expect his photographer to make his professionalism crumble and that this shooting would becomethispersonal.





	Up Close And Personal

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a first for me in different ways.  
> First time participating in a Bingo, first time writing a single chapter/one-shot this long, and first time writing an AU I would have never thought of if it would be for the bingo. 
> 
> First fill for the Stucky Bingo 2019: N1 - Model/Photographer AU
> 
> I had lots of fun writing this, I hope you'll enjoy it, too.

Bucky stared at the text his agent had sent him earlier. This couldn’t be the right place. 

His slow steps came to a stop and he turned to look at the building to his left. Yes, it was definitely the address it said in the text. 

He was in a small street of Brooklyn, a street where no one in their right mind would go. Especially not at a time like this. It was already past nine and the last remaining sun-rays lit the top of the high buildings. 

He went up the few front stairs and searched for the right button to push the bell. Several names were scribbled on small signs, lots of them smudged, faded away or not even used. 

He found one that somehow resembled the name his manager had texted him. A name that might read “Rogers” and something behind the name that might have been the word “photographer”. He shrugged. Well, no other option left. 

He pressed the button next to the sign all the way in. It felt like the button would crumble right below his fingers. He waited. 

It took a couple of moments when there finally came a cracking and then a voice from the old speaker next to the door. 

“Hello?”

“Barnes here”, Bucky replied and waited for an answer. 

“Right, third floor. Come in.” The words were hardly understandable and were drowned by the buzz of the door. 

The stairwell was barely lit, the weak lamps on each floor did a bad job. When he reached the third floor, there were two doors on opposite sides. One of them was slightly ajar, an equally bad scribbled name tag taped on the door just like on the bell downstairs. This house looked like no one had ever taken care of it. 

He knocked. 

“Come in, I’m back here”, came a low voice from behind the door and Bucky entered. The door fell shut behind him and he found himself in a small photo studio. The ceilings were high and different backgrounds, which could be lowered for different purposes, hang from it, lots of lights were turned on. One flickered. Props were piled on a wall. Chairs, curtains and different fabrics, even a feather boa was pinned to the wall. There was a small kitchenette on the other side. The faint scent of coffee lingered in the air. 

Maybe he could ask for a mug later. 

Bucky looked around but there was no one to be seen. “Hello, where are you?” Bucky called and there suddenly was a movement in the far left corner of the studio. A head popped up from behind a worn out leather couch, but Bucky couldn’t see his face. Just some blond hair. 

“Oh sorry. I’m here. I just need to get this....” A curse word seems to be swallowed down. “....lamp plugged in but the plug seems to be bend since _someone_ stepped on it.” The guy behind the couch drew out the word quite long. Then suddenly something got slammed on the floor and the flickering lamp started to glow evenly. “Finally!”

Bucky noticed a small grin creeping on his lips when he witnessed the outburst of the guy that was apparently the photographer. 

He immediately moved his face I to a straight expression again when the guy stood up from the floor and made his way over to Bucky. He was tall, maybe even a slight bit taller that Bucky himself. And even more muscular. Did no one tell him his long-sleeved shirt might be a bit too tight? Bucky didn’t mind, though. He tried to keep his calm and straight expression on his face. 

“I’m Steve Rogers, your photographer today.” Steve extended his right hand before he even came close to Bucky. “You must be Mr. Barnes.” He smiled brightly when Bucky took the offered hand and shook it for a moment too long. 

“Yes, and it’s Bucky”, he replied. “Steve then, hello Bucky.” A shiver ran down Bucky’s back. 

They let go of their hands and Steve immediately turned to the kitchenette. “Can I offer you some coffee? I know it’s already quite late for caffeine, but...”, Steve trailed off. 

“No, yes, I mean...coffee’d be great.” Bucky didn’t know why he suddenly felt so nervous. Steve just smiled again and turned around to fix them two mugs. “Black, please”, Bucky said and followed Steve over to the small counter. Steve added a splash of milk to his own mug and handed Bucky the other one. Their fingers nearly brushed. 

Bucky lifted the mug on eye level to inspect the picture printed on it. There was a picture of a comic figure on it. “Superheroes, really?” He laughed a bit and Steve shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a child sometimes.” The bright smile returned to his face and he lifted the mug to his lips, swallowed. 

“Oh, how rude of me, take your jacket off if you want. Put it...” Steve waved his left hand in the air. “...somewhere. Sorry for the mess. I just recently moved everything here and didn’t get to organise everything yet.”

“Nah, I don’t mind,” Bucky said, sat down his mug and shrugged out of his black coat. He left it on the counter and picked up his superhero mug again. 

“So, your agent - what was his name again? Coulson? - sent me the function sheet earlier today and explained what this shoot is about”, Steve began and moved over to an improvised desk which held a huge iMac and some lenses piled on it. He sat down his mug, opened a tab and scrolled down the mail Coulson had sent him. Bucky followed him and came to a stop to Steve’s left. “Just some casual shots for a magazine interview, right?”

Steve turned his head and looked up at Bucky who clutched to his mug with both hands. God, Steve’s lashes were ridiculously long. Bucky swallowed, then hummed in agreement. “Is this your outfit or did you bring something else?” Steve still didn’t turn his eyes back on the screen but eyed Bucky from head to toes. 

He wore a thick grey jumper, black tight jeans and heavy leather boots. It was cold outside and this outfit was warm and made him feel most comfortable today. He’d also thought it would be most fitting for this shoot today. 

“No, that’s it. Do ya think it’s too casual?” Bucky spread his arms a bit to give Steve a better view of himself. Steve shook his head. “No, it’s great.”

This caused a weird feeling in Bucky’s stomach. It was just Steve’s professional opinion on it, no big deal, Bucky thought and lifted the mug to his mouth again, kinda hiding his face behind it until Steve finally faced the screen of the iMac again. 

“Coulson gave some rough instructions what kind of pictures he wants, but do you have some ideas of your own? 

“No fancy stuff”, Bucky explained. “Some clean shots, nothing special. Maybe just me sitting on a chair without me having to break my bones doing some weird poses. I’ve had enough of that at my last campaign.” He remembered his last shooting. It had been super exhausting and had been taken a whole day last week. Steve nodded and scribbled down some notes in the same bad handwriting as the name tag on the door. Bucky wanted these pictures to fit the interview he recently had given to the magazine. He wanted them to fit his personality. “Just make sure I don’t end up with your pink feather boa”, he added jokingly and got a chuckle from Steve as a response. 

“I think I can work with that.” He laughed and Bucky swallowed the last bits of his coffee. “Do you mind if I have another one?” He shook his own empty mug, Steve’s not even half empty yet. “No, no, of course not. Help yourself”, Steve answered and got up from his chair. “I’ll get the gear ready, then.” 

Bucky walked over to the coffee pot and filled his mug again. He took a deep breath and turned around but didn’t walk back to Steve yet. He watched him position his camera on a tripod and then lowering down one of the backgrounds from the ceiling. One that was a few shades darker than his jumper. He then turned off the huge ceiling light and the only light left came from three softboxes positioned around the free space in front of the background. 

“Do you always work alone, Steve?” The question slipped Bucky’s mouth before he noticed he was talking. Steve answered while he continued to work to his props and taped a mark to the floor. 

“Yes, I do. I can’t afford an assistant yet and clients usually bring their own people for costumes and make-up.” He pulled an old wooden chair out of the props pile. “How about this one?”

Bucky nodded when Steve looked at him expectantly. “Looks perfect”, he added. 

“Speaking of which”, Steve said, positioning the chair on the previously placed mark. “Do you need any make-up and such? I think I got some....somewhere in this mess.” Steve laughed and looked around in his studio. 

“No, I’m fine. I had a make-up guy come over earlier.”

Bucky pushed himself forward from the counter he had leaned on and moved towards the chair. He put a hand on the backrest. The wood was smooth beneath his palm. The varnishing was peeling off in some places. Steve did a good choice. 

“Can you stay there for a second? I need to check the position of the lights and the settings on my camera.” Steve moved around the tripod and ducked behind the cam. “You don't want any standing shots?”

“I don’t think so.”, Bucky said in a low voice and took a sip of his coffee. The lamps were bright and he could hardly see Steve behind his camera anymore. Suddenly the lights flashed brighter and a soft click could be heard. From the distance, Bucky could see Steve had turned the screen of the Mac and a picture appeared of him with his mug raised to his mouth. 

Another click and flash, another picture this time with his mug lowered. 

“The light is perfect for pictures standing and sitting.” Bucky saw Steve moving behind the camera. “You wanna sit down now?” Steve suggested and stepped into the light so Bucky could see him again.

He positioned himself on the chair and set the half-empty mug on the floor below him. He tried to get a comfortable position. Steve adjusted the lenses and was back in the dark behind the camera. Another click. 

“You’re a professional, right? I think I’ve seen you before” Steve said from behind the camera and fiddled with some buttons and gears on it. He turned to have a look at the last picture open on his Mac. 

Bucky nodded. “Yes, I did some huge campaigns recently.” He still shifted on the chair, it was unusual he didn’t find the perfect position right away. 

“Do you need some help? I mean...” Steve went silent for a second when Bucky didn’t answer right back. Bucky could hear him breathing. “Do you want me to tell you how to move?”  
Just like Steve had said, Bucky was a professional. He knew how to pose to look best and what movements looked perfect on camera. He didn’t need any help. But somehow, somehow this was different. This shoot was all about him. Not about some super expensive clothes and huge brands. 

It was just about him. 

He answered hesitantly. “Maybe.” He shuffled his feet. “If you got any ideas, go for it”, he told Steve and looked to the camera in lieu of seeing Steve’s face. 

Bucky found a position he thought of quite comfortable and fitting. He held his left arm behind the backrest and let his right hand rest easily on his loosely crossed legs. The camera clicked, the lights flashed. Bucky moved around, Steve silently took pictures of him. They continued quietly for a couple of minutes. 

Suddenly Bucky remembered his half-empty coffee mug below him and reached for it. The clicking and flashing stopped. He saw Steve coming towards him when he lowered his now empty mug again. Steve reached for it and Bucky let him take it. 

“Can I ask you a question?” Steve’s voice was calm.  
“You know you already did, right?” Bucky shot back. Steve rolled his eyes at that but smiled at the same time. Bucky shifted again and drew in a deep breath.  
“Sure, go for it”, Bucky said then and waited for Steve to continue. 

“Why do you hide your arm behind your back all the time? I can see it’s not for the pose’s purpose. You’re hiding your arm.”

Bucky didn’t answer. Instead, he felt his facial expression going stern. 

Steve went on but this time his voice sounded like he wanted to apologise for something horrible. “I mean, I’m sorry, but....I don’t mean it as an insult, I just....” Steve went silent, rubbed the back of his neck for a moment. “This here is supposed to be up close and personal, right?” He pauses for another moment, watched Bucky’s reaction. Steve smiled a soft smile and Bucky felt like he would melt any second. “Isn’t your arm a part of you and your personality?” Steve added, now clutching the mug he got from Bucky with both hands himself. 

Bucky considered Steve’s words for a moment. He had pulled the sleeves of his jumper over his left hand for most of the time. He was sure Steve had seen his fingers, though.  
He’d mostly gotten around of having his left arm in the picture. Or only showed as much as really needed. There has never been more than his hand in a picture. Never his arm. 

“What do you think?” Steve broke the silence after giving Bucky time to think. 

Slowly, Bucky drew his left arm from behind the chair. He kept his eyes fixed on Steve, waiting for an expression of fear or disgust. Nothing came. 

Instead, Steve held out his right hand towards Bucky and waited. Bucky didn’t know what to do for a second, thought about not moving at all. Hesitantly, he slowly lifted his left arm and let his metal hand rest into Steve’s. 

Steve’s thumb gently stroked across the back of his hand. The fine sensors let him feel the warmth coming from Steve’s fingers. 

“What happened?” Steve asked, his words nearly came out as a whisper. Gently, he pushed up the hem of Bucky’s sleeve to reveal more of the shiny metal up to his elbow. Bucky let him. 

“War”, Bucky simply said and watched Steve move his hand and eyes along his arm. 

“Yeah, me too”, Steve swallowed. “How far up does it go?”

“Shoulder.” Another single worded answer. 

“You should show it. It looks good on you.” Steve quirked an eyebrow and slowly let go of Bucky’s hand. Steve moved over to the kitchenette and ruffled through some things. Bucky’s eyes followed him. When he came back, Steve offered him the refilled superhero mug. “You seem more relaxed with it.” Steve smiled and waited patiently until Bucky finally took it from his hand. 

“Thanks.” He inhaled the scent. The coffee was hot against his lips. 

“I’ve got an idea for a pose”, Steve suggested. Bucky looked up at him. “Turn the chair around, sit in reverse on it and put your arms on the backrest. Can you...can you push your sleeves up as much as possible?”

Bucky eyed him for another moment. “You really think that would be good? That people want to see me like this?” He felt exposed but he didn’t say that out loud. It would take more confidence than usual to take these photos. 

Steve shrugged. “I’d want to see that”, he said honestly and didn’t break the eye contact between them both. Steve looked at him all soft and reassuring, that Bucky suddenly felt like he could really do it and it wouldn’t be as bad. The flutter crept back into his stomach at Steve’s words. 

“Okay. I’ll do it.” 

Steve’s eyes showed tiny wrinkles in the corners when he smiled. They looked cute. He took the mug from Bucky’s hands when Bucky stood up and moved the chair around and sat down as Steve had offered. He crossed his arms and put them on the small wooden backrest, his metal arm on top, sleeves pushed up as far as he could, revealing tanned skin and shiny metal. 

“Like this?”  
“Yes, like this.” 

Steve crouched down to set down the mug on the floor like Bucky had done it before. He didn’t came back up right again but stayed that way for a second, reached out and hesitantly tucked a loose strand of hair, that had crawled out of Bucky’s back tied bun, behind his right ear. 

Bucky caught himself inhaling and exhaling heavier than usual. 

“Exactly like this”, Steve said again and looked slightly up at Bucky. He didn’t blink. He still felt Steve’s fingers brush his ear. For a second, everything seemed to stand still. 

But then Steve stood up and got lost in the dark behind the lights. He could hear some rustling and then Steve came back, a huge silver reflector in his hands. He placed it on the ground in front of Bucky, propped it up slightly and arranged it the way he thought best. It made Bucky’s arm shine more brightly. 

“Stay like this”, he said and was suddenly back behind his camera. “And now look at me, directly into the lens.”

And Bucky did exactly what Steve wanted. He gave him his best expression, a stern look, his head slightly lowered, lips parted. He totally forgot about his exposed arm, got lost in the light, the scent of his coffee standing by his feet, and finally the clicking of the camera. This really felt like taking a picture of him and not something he had to present and model for a customer. 

The camera clicked a couple of times, picture after picture appeared on the Mac’s screen. 

“I think we’ve got it”, Steve announced finally and leaned closer towards the screen with the latest picture of Bucky on it. Then he reached for the ceiling light to turn it back on again but Bucky wasn’t ready yet. He wasn’t sure why, but he suddenly felt like he didn’t want this to end yet. It didn’t feel right to stop here now. 

“Stop”, he said and Steve stood still mid-movement, his head turned towards Bucky who had stood up and stared back at him. Steve waited for Bucky to say something. It took Bucky a moment to gather his thoughts before he finally spoke. 

“Does your camera have a self-timer?” 

Steve nodded. “Sure. Why’re ya asking?”

Bucky looked at the floor for a moment before he found the strength to look Steve’s in the eye again and say what he wanted. 

He took a deep breath. 

“I want a picture with you”, Bucky eventually spat out and he felt his heart beating up to his neck. “I’m sorry, that was dumb of me”, he immediately added when Steve just stared at him. “I dunno why I said that.”

Then Steve shook his head. “No, it’s not dumb.” Steve took a couple of steps towards Bucky. “It’s not”, he repeated himself. 

Bucky found his breath again. Steve was only an arm-length away. For unknown reasons, Bucky wanted to reach out for Steve, but he kept his hands to himself. 

“Okay then”, he said instead and after a few more seconds of staring at each other, Steve went over to the camera to set up the self-timer. 

“Ever modelled before”, Bucky asked jokingly to break the tension that suddenly lingered in the air. He received a chuckle from Steve as a response. 

“No, never. Even though I know how to from a distance, I can’t actually do it. I guess you have to help me this time.”

Bucky smiled at him. “I guess I can work with that”, he repeated Steve’s earlier words from this evening. Steve seemed to notice his joke and laughed again. 

“You’ve got an idea?”

“Actually yes. A pose from a shooting a couple of years ago” Bucky explained. “It felt a bit weird and off back then, but I think....” He stopped speaking for a moment when he turned the chair around and sat down again. “I think this time could be different.” He felt really nervous saying this out loud. He pushed the mug aside with his left foot so it would later be out of the picture. 

“Good. Then we’ll do it.” 

Steve pressed a button and a light started blinking on the camera. Steve came over to Bucky. “We’ve got twenty seconds. What do you want to do?”

“Stand to my left”, Bucky ordered and reached out for Steve to move him over to his side. The fabric of Steve’s shirt was smooth against his palm. The touch made his nervousness reach another high. 

Steve stood to his left and Bucky twisted on the chair, stretched his right leg and put his left foot on the seat. His right hand relaxed on his lap. He leaned back a bit until his back came to rest against Steve’s hips. He tilted his head back. 

“Place your right arm on my shoulder”, Bucky said and helped Steve move the way he wanted him to. But instead of his right shoulder, Steve reached more forward and his fingers curled gently into the fabric covering his chest. Now Bucky was able to lean his head against Steve’s arm. 

“Is...is this okay for you”, Bucky asked, nervousness clearly audible in his voice.  
“Yes, go on. Ten seconds.” Steve’s hand now tightening the grip on Bucky’s chest. 

Then Bucky lifted his metal arm, the sleeve still pushed up to his shoulder. “I’m gonna hold onto you now, alright?” 

And when Steve breathed a light “yes”, Bucky’s metal fingers reached for Steve’s left bicep and let his hand stay there. 

Steve seemed to sense what Bucky wanted to do and shifted a bit so he didn’t stand frontally to the camera. Bucky’s arm would be the focus of the picture, totally being on display and showing that it wasn’t just some metal but a real arm, a real hand and fingers which were able to touch and feel. 

Holding onto each other like that, it felt like a half-hug and the moment the camera clicked and the lights flashed, Bucky suddenly fell calm and his nervousness was gone. 

He didn’t notice Steve looking down at him that exact moment, a slight smile on his lips. 

Going through the pictures later, Steve would notice that this picture was the only one of Bucky where he smiled as well. 

It was his favourite.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope I was able to describe the last pose as good as possible. I had it wonderfully pictured in my had but didn't know how to find the right words for it, I couldn't find any pictures for reference or sketching it up myself. 
> 
> I'm happy about any kind of advice on how to improve my writing, especially since English isn't my first language. 
> 
> I'm thinking about writing a short epilogue, I feel like this piece needs some kind of explaining for what happened to the other pictures Steve shot of Bucky.
> 
> [Up Close And Personal on Tumblr](https://bespectacledgiraffe.tumblr.com/post/185474244551)


End file.
